Message from EGH Leadership
Small daily differences add up to make a big difference.
This is true for the women who access services at our drop-in Day Center and reside in our Transitional House. And it is true for Elizabeth Gregory Home (EGH) as a human service agency.
Daily differences throughout 2022 added up to make a big difference in EGH’s capacity to serve women who are experiencing homelessness, trauma, or economic insecurity.
- At our Day Center, we opened a new commercial kitchen and the Ruth Herold Community Room. The kitchen grew our capacity to safely prepare and serve fresh, nutritious meals and the community room introduced a needed space for dining and programs. Our thanks to all who helped fund and furnish the space and to Roger Morris and Ryan “Henry” Ward for the colorful mural that features our values of Respect, Inclusion, Community, Empathy. As soon as the new space opened in October, we saw year on year growth in the number of visits, new guests, and unique individuals accessing Day Center services. This trend continued each month through the winter and into the new year.
- We received a grant to provide mental health services at the Day Center.
- We added lockers and a device charging station that women can use while they shower, do laundry, have lunch, use computers, go to job interviews, and meet with staff.
- We joined the Seattle Pride Parade for the first time, with sponsorship from construction firm Lease Crutcher Lewis and marchers that included staff, women we serve, volunteers, board members, and supporters.
- We grew the diversity of our board and staff and brought lived experience onto both teams.
- We built capacity through successful grants and fundraising campaigns and launched a Car Donation Program.
- We enrolled staff in EGH’s first retirement plan and savings match.
- We expanded our outreach to complementary service providers and grew our list of community partners and grantors.
Women who come to EGH seeking help and housing tell us that EGH is special not only because of the services they receive but because of how they feel when they walk through our doors: welcomed, respected, and supported by community.
You are the supportive community that makes this work possible. Your individual actions add up to make a big difference.
Our Clients
Women come to Elizabeth Gregory Home from all walks of life and their paths to getting here are diverse.
The average age of our clients is 46 years old. Most come with a background of trauma (nearly 60% have experienced domestic violence) and all need a safe space to get back on their feet.
At age 73, Marcia found herself homeless. She lived in overnight shelters and spent time at Elizabeth Gregory Home’s Day Center. Today, she is housed and works as a Day Center Assistant at EGH. Here she shares her experience with food insecurity and the importance of having food access at Elizabeth Gregory Home.
Casey
accessed EGH targeted grant funds designated to help transwomen experiencing homelessness.
Dorothy
comes to the Day Center for community and visits with Clementine the Therapy Dog.
Sandy
lives in her own apartment after receiving a housing voucher and support from EGH staff.
Transitional Housing Program
Elizabeth Gregory Home’s Transitional Housing Program (THP) provides housing, support, and resources for up to two years for women to gain skills to live independently. In 2022, eleven women were served through our Transitional Housing Program. Several residents – Jayden, Rhonda, Maria, Claudine, and Julie – gained employment and are now living independently in their own apartments. While Rhonda lived in our Transitional Housing, EGH staff connected her with one of our employment training partners. Watch how Elizabeth Gregory Home’s Transitional Housing Program and our partnership with The Pastry Project changed Rhonda’s life.
Services By the Numbers
10,165 Meals
2,598 Showers
7,237 Items of Clothing
962 Loads of Laundry
5,954 Bus Tickets
11 Women lived in EGH Transitional Housing
Our New Community Room & Kitchen
On October 22, 2022, we held an Open House & Grand Unveiling of our renovated Ruth Herold Community Room and commercial kitchen. Over 100 community members, supporters, local government officials, and even the UW Husky Band visited Elizabeth Gregory Home to help us celebrate. We are grateful to all who helped us with this project.
VISIT HERE to see photos and television news coverage of the event.
Using trauma-informed design concepts, our space includes mixed seating – encouraging choice, greenery, and positive messaging. We were thrilled to have local artist, Henry, paint an original mural in our window well, using bright cheerful colors and incorporating signs with our organizational values for staff and clients to view each day.
Our work in D.E.I.
Incorporating Voice
With surveys and active listening, the voice of our clients help inform programming.
Staff and Board with Lived Experience
In 2022, we added a board member and additional staff who have all experienced homelessness and were past clients of EGH. We value their insight, feedback, ideas, and connection to the community.
Training
We incorporated staff training on topics such as implicit bias, microaggressions, and gender identity and expression.
At EGH, we believe everyone who walks through our doors – clients, volunteers, employees, donors – should be able to be their authentic selves and feel valued. We provide a safe and caring space where our LGBTQIA+ clients feel welcome and seen and we were proud to put our values of Respect, Inclusion, Community and Empathy on display at the Seattle PRIDE Parade.
Thank You Volunteers!
103 volunteers gave 3,456 hours of their time and talent to Elizabeth Gregory Home in 2022.
Volunteers are the heart of Elizabeth Gregory Home. Each day we are fortunate to have members of our community step up to help in many different ways.
In addition to providing governance and fiscal oversight, our hard-working volunteer Board of Directors participated in the search and hiring of our new Executive Director. In our Day Center, volunteers Robert and Blythe provide free haircuts to our clients. Dozens of students from the University of Washington continue to volunteer at our Day Center each year, including health sciences and social work students. We rely on volunteer-led clothing and coat drives to provide our clients with much-needed clothing. We are grateful to corporations, such as Liberty Mutual, whose employee engagement programs include sending volunteers into the community for group volunteer projects.
Thank you, Donors!
We are so grateful for the support of our corporate and foundation partners, community groups, volunteers, and individual donors who made our 2022 programs and services possible.
2022 Financial Information
REVENUE
$1,172,224
EXPENSE
$1,039,398
Net end-of-year assets: $1,585,852.
2022 Board of Directors
Jean Edelhertz, President
Marie-Claude Milot, Vice President
Jillian Jones, Secretary
Katie Hawley, Treasurer
Roger Morris
Jay Free
Adam Gehrke
Glen Garrison
Michelle Gregoire
Erin Fetridge
Miriam Okot-Okidi
Margoan Hunter
Patricia Ryan
Lonness Valenna
Lisa Huang-North
Jessica Cupo
Richa Thapliyal
Albert Komba
Rahel Abraham
Pamela MacFetridge
Tammy Hanson
Sue Schneider
Staff:
Ally Baehr, Executive Director
Michele Martin, Operations Manager
Michelle Wick, Program Manager
Andy Gallegos, Day Center Manager
Mary Duncan, Development Officer
Zenashe Ewnetu, Day Center Assistant
Rainy Paikin, Day Center Assistant
Marcia Kutz, Day Center Assistant
Julie Crowell, Day Center Assistant
Kiwi Hojnar, Day Center Assistant
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